Darren.

Welcome aboard, Manny! How old is the line on the reel? 3 years, as well? Also, what kind of line is it? I'm assuming mono. You might want to change it out for braid which will last for a long time. Also, are you using spinning gear?

A beauty! The bass...not you

You have plenty of great suggestions to get started, so I'll just say welcome aboard! You're in the right place to learn the sport!

First, click on the bottom where it says "Explore food & drinks in this area"... In those deep spots I'd be throwing a drop shot with a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm. Heck, I'd throw it shallow, too. That's usually a "can't miss" bait for me in my waters lately.

Welcome aboard! We all suffer slumps here and there. Part of the sport. Just keep plugging away and maybe try slowing down your presentation a little, too. Often that's a solution when bass aren't seemingly in the mood for fast stuff.

Good times! Nice outing

Oh yeah, a nice chunk!

There's almost no wrong way to fish a Senko. Don't cut wacky rigging short, though. It provides a different profile and fall than a TX rigged Senko. Both are very effective. I drop shot all the time, but usually use smaller baits, specifically the Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm. Also split shot. All are good techniques. My most productive are wacky and drop, FWIW.

Welcome aboard!

No, it is not "better", it is different. You can do it all with spinning, but if you want to learn bait casting, then by all means, do so. This is what I did, and I consider myself pretty proficient at casting my Chronarch 50e, even skipping it on a ML casting rod. But I've also settled more into spinning as a better all-around setup for me. I don't do tourneys, and I'm not concerned with a ton of different techniques. But is it worth learning? Absolutely. Better? Not really.

Welcome aboard! By all means you can start out with a kit like that. They're quite common in Asian markets, from what I've seen (based on buying other gear from sites that sell these). It may not be the best, but if you are trying to decide whether you really like the sport, it can suffice--if portability is what you're looking for specifically. Otherwise, I'd suggest, as @dsqui does, to find something local - either a "mom & pop" fishing shop or a Bass Pro, Cabelas, etc. There you can find some very nice combos which will serve you well to start in the sport.

Why not? If they don't mind visible braid, they won't mind a hot-rod-mod crank either

I think live catches more fish, but I fish artificial more. Though when fishing is tough, live is the way to go, and for me that is normally nightcrawlers. There's nothing cheating about using live unless it is not allowed in a particular water or tournament. I used to live in western NY, and lived near the Oatka river which banned live bait fishing - at least in the sections I lived near.

You cast them at the docks, at the downed trees, or grassy areas and let them sink. As they sink they do a wiggle, or a shimmy that bass find quite enticing. If you do throw into those type of areas, you might want to get the same hooks but with weed guards already on them.

Welcome aboard, Kevin! For bass I like to use soft plastic baits like Senkos and wacky rig them. Throw them near downed trees in the water, around docks, and so on. Fish them slow and hang on! Search for "how to wacky rig" in our search box and you'll get a TON of advice on how to and where and all that. It is super easy way to start bass fishing. You can get your confidence up and try new techniques. Good luck!

Welcome aboard!

Agree with John, setup is fine for starting out. And welcome to the forums!

Yup, Zoom Trick worm. And welcome to the forums.

Welcome aboard, Holden!

Reputation, feel in my hands, weight, gear ratio, repair reputation, etc. Probably most subjective, but one of the key things is feel in my hands.

Well, for spinning gear, I like Shimano reels, and St. Croix or Bass Pro Carbonlite rods. There are plenty of great spinning reels on the market including Daiwa, Okuma, Pflueger, and others. Just get your hands on them in a store and determine what feels best in your hands. We all have differences and what I like may not be what you like.... As far as tackle...for me, it'd be mostly wacky hooks, wacky jigs, Senkos, Shad Shapedworms, and a bevy of drop shot, TX bullet weights and so on. I'm a soft plastics fisherman first, hard lures a distant second.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard! Carbonlite spinning/casting rods St. Croix Legend Tournament spinning Shimano Stradic FI, FJ 1000s Shimano Chronarch 50e

Welcome aboard, Adam! For the casting outfit, I'd use either 12# mono/copoly or fluorocarbon, or I'd use 20-30# braid + leader. For spinning, 10-15# braid mainline + a leader of various pound test for whatever you fish for.

Excellent! Nice catch!